Rama Krishna Sangem
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is planning a revamp of his council of ministers on July 3, Monday, in which Cabinet minister G Kishan Reddy may be sent to BJP organisational work. Reddy may be made president of Telangana BJP unit or all India general secretary or vice-president with in charge of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, according to party sources in Hyderabad and Delhi.
A final call, however, is not yet taken as there are divergent views on this proposal. As per a strategy chalked out at the top level of BJP – between Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP president JP Nadda and party organisation secretary BL Santosh, at least 10 union ministers might be drafted for party work in view of the coming elections to five states – Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Mizoram.
BJP top brass is not confident of winning not more than 2-3 states in this round of polls. Having lost Karnataka already, the party is not in a position to afford another round of defeat in the hands of Congress. If that happens, BJP cannot be sure of winning a hat-trick for Modi government in Lok Sabha elections of 2024. “Now, we are not in a position to take things lightly, some drastic steps may be needed,” a BJP functionary from Delhi told Excel India.
Besides Kishan Reddy, other central ministers likely to be drafted to party work are: Prahlad Josh, Anurag Singh Thakur, Dharmendra Pradhan, Bhupender Yadav, Narendra Singh Tomar, Gajendra Shekhawat and three others. It is not that these ministers are laggards. They are good performers. But, the party too needs talent to win the polls, crucial for its future. July 3 council of ministers meeting will discuss ministers’ performance cards.
Kishan Reddy not interested
Sources said Kishan Reddy is not interested in coming back as Telangana BJP president. There are two reasons for this: First, he doesn’t want to replace Bandi Sanjay, Karimnagar MP who belongs to Munnur Kapu caste, an OBC community. “He doesn’t want a Reddy, forward community person, to replace Sanjay, an BC leader in Telangana,” said a leader close to Kishan Reddy.
Second reason is Kishan Reddy thinks he can serve BJP better as a union minister in both Telangana and Andhra. “If he is a union minister, he can meet anyone from the two states and guide the party effectively. If he becomes BJP president of Telangana, then he would be tied down to this particular state only,” said the senior leader. Now, Kishan Reddy is confident of winning again his Secunderabad LS seat.
Moreover, PM Modi too is not enthusiastic about replacing Sanjay at this stage. Modi several times seen patting Sanjay on the back in appreciation of his good work of making party public meetings success. Modi is known to encourage OBC leaders both in the party and his council of ministers. If at all Kishan is sent as BJP Telangana president, then Sanjay may be taken as Minister of State at the Centre.
